An Israeli drone (file photo)

Israeli forces have launched an airstrike on the northern Gaza Strip that has injured at least three Palestinians.

Late on Saturday, an Israeli drone fired a rocket at a group of Palestinians in the town of Beit Hanoun.

The attack injured at least three people, one of whom is reportedly in critical condition and has been declared brain dead.

A Press TV correspondent in Gaza said the Israeli military later confirmed the attack, but described it as a preemptive move aimed at preventing a possible rocket attack on Israel.

Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip have claimed the lives of scores of Palestinians and injured many more.

In late August, a wave of Israeli violence killed about 26 Palestinians and wounded dozens of others in the Gaza Strip.

Israel has been launching regular airstrikes on the Gaza Strip since the end of its December 2008-January 2009 war on the Palestinian territory.

The 22-day war left over 1,400 Palestinians dead and injured thousands more.

The three weeks of unrelenting aerial, land, and sea strikes also destroyed thousands of civilian and government buildings and devastated much of Gaza’s infrastructure.

In addition, Israeli forces have been targeting Palestinians who approach a so-called buffer zone. In 2008, Tel Aviv declared that the 300-meter-long strip flanking the Gaza-Israel boundary would henceforth be a no-go zone, effectively preventing Gazans from accessing some of their agricultural land.

Israeli soldiers often open fire on Palestinians in an around the zone under the pretext of preventing attacks on Israel.